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Dennis Upkins
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West of Sunset Paperback – May 31, 2014

by Dennis R. Upkins (Author)
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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“I recalled some sage I once received from two friends, Seraphim. They confirmed that the old saying was true. If you ever want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” For Brecken Everett, there's never a dull moment. When he's not dealing with a demanding course load and honing his magic as top student at Lightmage University, he’s working as a private investigator and using his skills to protect the innocent from the darkest forces. In two action-packed adventures, Breck demonstrates that outnumbered and outgunned is when he’s at his best. In Keepers, Brecken is enlisted to aid the Jacob and Joshua Phoenix; twins, the last Pyrians, the last of an ancient race. The Brothers Phoenix are on a quest to uncover clues to their past. When they find a lost relic, a pair of demons claim it. With Brecken’s aid, the twins are determined to not only stop the threat, but have some fun in the process. West of Sunset takes place a year after Keepers. Brecken wants to do was get out of Atlanta. Heading to Los Angeles with his best friend he plan a vacation of surf, sun, partying and relaxation until the boys stumble upon a museum heist connected to a biker gang of vampires with plans to raise a most dark power. Matters get even more complicated with the involvement of a mysterious and powerful witch. Witches, museum heists, arising malevolent forces, vampire biker gangs, even Brecken’s vacations are another day at the office.
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  1. Print length
    138 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    May 31, 2014
  4. Dimensions
    5.5 x 0.32 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1600431798
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1600431791
  7. See all details
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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
6 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jamie D Jeans
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic, fun ride!
Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
West of Sunset is a wonderful book about wizards and monsters and angels that simply works for how much heart and fun it has. The characters are great, the dialogue funny and witty, and it has warmth where it matters the most, about the connections of family and friends and how we make them in this world.

While there may have been one or two bits of info-dumping that came off a bit rough, this book was hugely entertaining and had me laughing out loud many many times while I was reading it, which only ever happened when I was reading Terry Pratchett's books.

So do yourself a favour and buy this book!
3 people found this helpful
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Odin
2.0 out of 5 stars Has its moments, but lacks depth
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
This is a below-average urban fantasy with some good ideas that needed some more development in order to shine.

The characters are a diverse group of people, representing races, cultures, and sexualities of all types. This made me smile, as I am glad to see a multicultural world. They needed more developing in order for me to really get to know them, however. Events happen at a breakneck pace, with little time for character development or reflection. Given that we follow Breck's perspective, I want to hear more of his thoughts. Not everything needs to be wrapped up in a couple of sentences so that we can move on. There wasn't much we learned about him that didn't directly drive the plot along. I can name favorite foods, favorite books, and favorite outfits of many other urban fantasy heroes and heroines. I don't remember anything about Breck's non-magical interests besides that he's gay, which is a plot point for humor, humanity, and a little sizzle.

It may have been the Kindle app, but there were some formatting issues with line break hyphens and missing spaces. There were also a few words used slightly out of context, or that may not have been the best choice for the story. I enjoy an expansive vocabulary, but writers need to know their audience and their craft. Word choice can also help define your world and your characters.

Lastly, the world itself needed to be defined better. As a writer I enjoy has said, "Know your world's rules. Even if you never show them to the audience, stick to them. It will give your world a framework and keep things believable." This even holds true when dealing with vampires and wizards. Magical abilities and vampiric powers seemed to exist right when the story needed them, with little cost associated with tapping into energies that could have shattered the world. This took me out of the story and left me wondering why other bad things hadn't happened due to the misuse of magic, or by the actions of rogue magical beings.

In closing, it needed development, but it provided some entertainment and a few shining phrases of dialogue.
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House Music
4.0 out of 5 stars YA has completely stagnated.....time for that injection of REAL
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2015
**SMALL SPOILERS ABOUND**

The YA scene Has Become A Graveyard For Creativity. Day in, day out you see the same teenage problems, the same vampires, the same werewolves etc. Urban fantasy, in particular, has suffered from this because the "metropolitan" appeal of those books is severely dumbed down by poorly written pov characters. Why are these character so poorly written; I don't know but stagnation in YA probably can be attributed to the fact that it is expressly written for young white teens with heteronormative behaviour as a focus (we wont talk about M/M; thats a whole other bag of messed up).

Enter Brecken Everett. He is no mans fool. He is smart. He is capable. He is incredibly intuitive, and yet he has the kind of bravado that doesn't need the sacrifice of other characters' merits to be apparent.

He is also Black. Beautifully so. He is also Gay. Beautifully so. With all of that being said, he is probably my second favorite character: Nemesis is an absolute mindninja. She is also black, beautifully so. Heres why this takes center stage in my review: if you are like me and desperatley cling to any characters who look like you in fantasy; a book like this comes along and satisfies that need ten-fold. Its not just the black characters that are well written either; everyone is given proper due. One of the biggest weaknesses of another YA series dealing with bird species as a title was that the main female character was made mediocre due to her poorly written expressed emotion. White characters need just as much love as everbody else in YA and Mr. Upkins delivers in West of Sunset as well. This aspect really shines in the second part of the novel when Brecken and his friend travel to SoCal.

The novel is split into two parts; the first adventure is abroad in an awesome castle the second adventure takes place in SoCal. You will find some editing errors abound and for some people that may be a put off, but honestly I was to busy being enthralled by vampires on Hayabusas; yea that happens and it gets REAL. This is this authors second book not with a major publishing company, and its impressive in itself that this book was produced and distributed, so spelling errors do not interrupt my sense of adventure.

My only hang up about this book (if you can call it that; im just thinking of other readers who may notice it) is there is a distinct absence of sense of time while characters are being established. Sometimes I found myself wondering what time of day it was, or exactly how far characters had traveled.

My favorite thing about Mr. Upkins writing style in this book are the action scenes. They are crisp, solid, and keep you guessing. Jim Butcher should take note; the "rocky" approach is not appealing. When writing action; wether it be plot developement or fight/chase scenes, you get the sense while reading that Mr. Upkins pulls no punches for anyone, including the heroes, and death is a real outcome. It makes the characters ingenuity and team work that much more valuable.

Its really hard to not just start talking about what actually happens right now so I will just say this: If you have never felt represented in fantasy or you just want a refreshing take on fantasy that doesn't follow the "big three" (GRRM, Stephen Meyer, butcher) This is your book. You wont be disappointed;)
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